Meanwhile, on the supply side, the refined copper market was stuck in a deficit of 205,000 metric tons this year, according to Wall St. Daily. London Metal Exchange warehouses show supplies have fallen to around 150,000 metric tons, the lowest in six years, or less than three weeks of global consumption.
Moreover, some market observers are pointing to additional gains in copper prices due to short covering after investors, who had been bearish following the fraud allegations in China, quickly switched over to long copper. So far, fears that financing deals tied to Chinese warehouses have been unfounded. [Copper ETFs Blemished After Chinese Investigation]
iPath Dow Jones-UBS Copper Subindex Total Return ETN
For more information on copper, visit our copper category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.